Adjusting render settings

So, creating a project is just one part of the process.In order to actually create any files, like a JPEG or a QuickTime or WindowsMedia, you actually have to go throw a process called Rendering.So, as you can see, I have a scene here containing some of the things we will becreating, as we move throughout this course.Now, if you look in the center of your toolbar, at the top of your screen, youwill notice there are three buttons that have clapboards.Let's start by clicking the leftmost button.This is called Render Active View, and this will give us an idea as to what ourscene will look like when we actually go render it.

This is perfectly fine about 90% of the time when you are trying to preview yourproject, as you are manipulating different settings.Sometimes, you actually have to go in and create an actual Render.But before you do that, you need to set up your Project settings, and you dothat by going to the Render Settings.Click the button on the right with the clapboard, and it opens up aRender Settings window.First thing you will notice is Render Engine.We will just leave this at Full Render, but it's important to note that CINEMA4D does support external Render engines like CineMan and 3Delight.

So let's go to the Output Settings.This is where we actually set the resolution of our project.If you click on the Arrow button, right next to the word Preset, underOutput, and you notice we get a dropdown menu, with options from Screen, toWeb, to Film/Video.Notice CINEMA 4D even supports Print.If we choose Letter, notice it will even render a 300 DPI image.This is kind of nice, because you can not only set the Size, but thespecific Resolution.Let's go back up to the arrow and go to Film/Video, and let's set our ProjectSettings for the rest of this course.

I want to choose DVCPRO HD 720 23.976. This is commonly referred to as DVCPRO HD 720p24. 00:01:47.38] Now, if you don't know anything that I said, don't sweat it.This is just an HD setting that we are going to use that I think is a greatbalance between being HD, but not necessarily being so large that it's going tobog everybody's systems down.Now, there's one little issue we have to correct, and that's called thePixel Aspect Ratio.If we want to render this scene on our computer monitors, everything would lookkind of squished, and since we are not going back to HDV Tape, let's just goahead and change the Pixel Aspect Ratio to 1.

This way, when we render things, they will be in proper proportion.The next setting, down here, is called Frame Range.This is where you can tell CINEMA 4D to render the Current Frame, All Frames, orjust the Preview Range.Let's leave this set to Current Frame right now, just because we are not goingto get into animation very much until the animation chapter.For you video folks, this is where you can set your Field setting.Again, we will just leave that at None.If we go to Save, this is where we can specify where we would like to save our file.If you want to choose a folder, click the button with the three dots onthe right-hand side.

This will open up a window, asking us to type a name for our file.So I will just call this Class, and click Save.Now we can jump to Format.This is where we can specify everything from Photoshop, to JPEG, to QuickTimeMovie, or Windows Media, if you are on a Windows machine.You can even change the Depth settings.But let's leave all this set to the default settings, because, again, we are notgoing to get much into this until we get into the animation chapter.The next setting I want you to look at is Anti-Aliasing.

By default, Anti-Aliasing is set to Geometry, which is a low setting.It's usually perfectly fine, but I like to work with Best.This way, when we render our images, we are seeing everything at the bestpossible resolution.Now, there is a Filter setting that I do change when I go into animation, Ichange it to Animation.This just changes the Filter to kind of optimize the image, to take into accountthe motion that happens when you are playing back frame after frame.Let's go ahead and leave this to Still Image for now.Now, just so we don't have to go back through all these settings again, weshould save these settings as a Preset, and you do that under the Render Setting button.

If you go ahead and click the Render Setting button on the lower left-handcorner, we can go ahead and choose Save Preset.When you choose Save Preset, go ahead and type the name.We can call it C4D Class.Now, I have already saved this as a Preset, so I am just going to clickCancel and show you.But go ahead and press OK to save your Preset.Now, when we go to the Render Settings button, if you go to Load Preset, thereis where our Preset is.Now, when we choose that, we are halfway there.

To actually render out of these settings, you need to click this little targetbutton, to the left.Once that button is highlighted white, now you know when you go to render yourproject, it will be set to these settings.So, anytime, from now on, when you create new projects, automatically open yourRender Settings, go to Render Setting, and load the Class Preset.Then, just make sure to click that one button, and we are good to go.When you are in your project and you have made different adjustments, you don'thave to worry about going up to File and saving your render settings.

They are automatically embedded within each individual project.So we can go ahead and just close the Render Settings window, and I know thatsetting is embedded within this 01_07_Render_Settings project.Now, there is one last thing I need to show you, and that's how to createpreview renders as you are working through your scene.This center button here, if you click and hold, this is where we can turn on anoption called Interactive Render Region.What this does, it draws a box around the scene, so if there is a specificarea that we are tweaking, we can go ahead and just choose that specific area to render.

We can change the Resolution by clicking on this arrow.Yours might be down here in the middle.If you click and drag to the bottom, notice it's going to preview at a low Resolution.As you click and drag to the top, it will preview at a high Resolution.What's nice about this window, as I continue to rotate around the scene, ormove, or make any adjustments in my Object Manager, those adjustments will bereflected in the Interactive Preview Render.Let's go ahead and turn that off by clicking on the same button, in the top ofthe screen, and turn off Interactive Render Region.

Now, to actually create the file of your project, you don't click thisbutton here on the left.This is just giving us a preview as to what it would look like.To render your project, you have to click and hold on the center button andrender it to the Picture Viewer.When you let that go, you will see the Picture Viewer pop-up.Now, we will be getting more into detail about the Picture Viewer later inthis title.

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Author

Released

12/10/2009

CINEMA 4D R11.5 Essential Training covers all the important steps to get up and running with this easy-to-use 3D application. Designer and author Ian Robinson covers the essentials of 3D design, including modeling, animation, and integration with other design tools. Ian explores how to build objects with CINEMA 4D's basic primitives, and how to use light, shadow, and texture to give depth to a scene. He shows the proper use of the powerful animation tools, including MoGraph, to push 3D designs to the limit. Finally, Ian covers how to combine CINEMA 4D with other applications like After Effects and Motion. Exercise files accompany this course.